brakingbad

What is the C43? I was thinking about this the last few days. I know why I decided to buy one (still awaiting delivery). It will be my new daily driver. I see some members here calling it a sports car and others as just transportation. Is it an "enthusiast" car and what is that anyway? I am just a few hours away from one of the best driving roads on the planet. The famed "tail of the dragon". People come from literally around the world and make videos of themselves driving this road. There are videos of every vehicle I've ever owned and yet I can't find a C43 video on the dragon. Do people just not enjoy driving it as much as they do modding it? Is it not a drivers car? I know why I ordered a C43. Why did you? How do you classify the C43?

KyleSmith

I picked the C43 since I live in New York and wanted a daily driver but also wanted a sports car. Since New York has some snowy weather, I needed an AWD car. C43 to me is a daily driver sports car. The only mod I have for it is a renntech tune with the renntech Blow off Valve. If you get the correct tires, the car corners really well, which I think it is perfect for the "Tail fo the dragon".

jonathan358

The C43 is not a sports car, not even the C63 is a sports car. Just a sporty car that is closer to a grand tourer.

Sports car = 2 seats, lower CoG, better driving position, wayyy lighter, and improved suspension geometry.

But I mean, it will still be fun of course.

RichardCranium3

That's like, your opinion, mannn.....

"Sports car" is 2 doors, but the term has long since hit the point of ubiquity for any "fast" car. It's not large enough or prestigious enough to hit grand tourer status IMO. Sport sedan is what I say if anyone asks. Also, a sporty sedan =/= sport sedan as far as I'm concerned as well. The C43 has enough additional attention given to it to tip the scales out of being just a sedan that's sporty. YMMV

jonathan358

I guess I am old-fashioned and can only call cars such as: BRZ, 911, Cayman/Boxster, Alfa 4C, Mk5 Supra, ect. a "sports car".

To me, the modern definition of "sports car" is muddled in that it may have decent track times but they lack the dynamics of a race car which is what a sports car targets.
They make up for handling and response with sheer power; attributes of what a cruiser/GT does.

brakingbad

My plan was to wear out the run flats and then go with more appropriate tires. I wasn't planning on taking the C43 to the Dragon as I prefer my Porsches for that but I suppose I'll have to make at least one trip to ensure there is a least one video of the C43 on the Dragon.

I generally agree but My 911, Some Aston Martins, and Maseratis all have back seats so the industry lines are getting blurry.

Sport Coupe, Sport Wagon etc? I see where you're coming from.

jim04clk

I would say the c63 or the m4 is more of a sports car. If you define a sports car by magazine road test numbers. I would say we have a sporty/luxury are all around great car. Being that it as awd and has the power it does plus with all the creature features. Great for all seasons and still as fast or if not faster then 90% of the cars on the road you will ever encounter. That’s my 2 cents.

RichardCranium3

As long as we live in a world where MB and BMW are calling cars with 4 doors coupes, the lines are obliterated and erased from a world of any sanity.

brakingbad

Worse, 4 Door SUV Coupes from BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche. Don't even get me started on the all electric porsche taycan turbo!

jim04clk

We should all be very proud of our c43’s. And the success we had in life to afford a nice car. Every where I go I get compliments. It looks great. Perfect for dinner dates and beach day. Even parking lot cruises Fast enough. Tuned cars even better. Plus for us in bad weather the awd system is absolutely a plus. I also really like its compact dimensions. Easy to park and maneuver. Fun to drive. Priced right to. Really can’t go wrong with this car in my opinion. As long as you know what it’s limitations are.

Skim450

as a fan of the lebowski, i approve of this message.

im the dude... so that's what you call me.

Cowboy11

I look forward to your video of this road. Would you kindly put the link to this video on this thread once you don't the ride?

AMGiggity

Whatever C43 is, it is not in the same category as C63 or BMW MX (not MXXX, like M340). I think BMW does a better job identifying their brands. The difference between M2 and M240 driving experience is pretty obvious and also differentiate by BMW naming convention.

Cornering IS my main problem with C43. What tires are you using? I am getting close to being able to get rid of factory run flats.

KyleSmith

I use continental extreme contact DWS tires.

Bond55

I bought mine because my mom already had an S5 and I didn't want the same car as her, and I hate BMW....wanetd a C63 but couldn't justify the $25k price difference.

I took my C43 on the track and passed a Hellcat, new ZR1 and R8. Guess it's all how you drive it. I've had 911's and Miatas, and while I consider those true "sports cars", I think the C43 is good for what it's meant to be...which is a sporty "entry" level sedan.

Mr. J

It's a sports sedan. Sometimes it handles and performs better than some sports cars when the suspension is behaving. It's much more fun to drive with all the nannies including the esp off. OTOH, the nannies are really nice when you're exhausted with a long drive ahead of you. We got it because we thought it would be an awesome year round DD. It is a very capable car but comfort is a little lacking. I'm not sure that the loss in comfort was a fair trade for the level of performance gained. If I knew what I know now I would have gotten an E400, tuned it, and put a big brake kit on it.

To be fair, suspension seems to be much better sorted on '18 and newer cars.

Mr. J

The new CLA is a very nice design and garnered lots of compliments this week when I was driving one. It was a plowing, wobbly, weezy, torque-steering, FWD slug. But she sure was pretty. It is possible to make an attractive 4 door coupe without totally failing at the attractive part. I am not convinced that the same can be done with a Coupe-u-vee.

Mr. J

MIchelin AS3+ will eek out a little more performance and will feel like a summer tire when it's dry. They also cost about 20% more than the Conti DWS06 and wear a bit quicker. The Contis will be better in the Winter but the Michelins will be more agile when pushing the car to the limit of traction.

If you live someplace with long hard WInters you should probably run a Summer/Winter combo. Otherwise, get the Contis if you want to go conservative or the Michelin's if you want to hoon it a little more.

W205C43PFL

It sure is nice but it reminds me of the Q60 rear taillights a little toooo much...

places

It's a sports sedan...period. C43 coupe could be a sports coupe and to some a sports car, subjective for sure. Someone had called it a grand tourer, wrong. That's a term is for S Coupes, BMW 8's and Bentley coupes.